Weep Not for Nnamdi Kanu
By: Deji Yesufu
When I was collating articles for my book, HUMANITY, I needed to provide quotes from thinkers that best summarized each chapter. The quote I found for Chapter Five, which we titled “Boko Haram”, was from a certain Richard Engel. It states:
“Insurgencies are easy to start and hard to stop. Only a few ingredients need to combine to create an insurgency; like oxygen and fire, they’re very common and mix all too often. All it takes is a legitimate grievance against a state, a state unwilling to compromise, a quorum of angry people, and access to weapons.”
Now, while we provided that quote to describe the activities of that militant Islamic group in northern Nigeria, it is a statement that will apply to all kinds of insurgencies in Nigeria. From bandits, to Fulani herdsmen, to Niger Delta militants, and to the militant wing of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). The easiest thing in this world is to destroy, and the hardest thing in the world is to build. With a mass of unemployed young people in this country, it costs nothing to gather young men together and lead them on a course of fighting the state. It is, however, more challenging to build a system gradually that will help address the deficiencies in the state. At the height of Nigeria’s fight to be rid of British rule, violence was an option for Nigerian nationalists. But thankfully, they saw an example in the life and ways of Mahatma Gandhi, and they realized that peaceful means can bring about change to a system.
I rejoiced at the news of the sentencing of Nnamdi Kanu yesterday at an Abuja court. I am very glad that Justice Omotosho did not wield the death penalty, which his offences well deserved, but merely commuted his sentencing to life imprisonment. I sincerely hope that Kanu would use his time in confinement to think through his life and ways, find grace and repentance, before his time on this side of heaven is up. Let it be clear to all readers: there was no miscarriage of justice in the Nnamdi Kanu case. The Nigerian government rightly brought charges of terrorism against him, following his jumping of bail, and fleeing the country, and in an Israeli/Gestapo-type style, Nigerian secret security officials captured him in Kenya, and repatriated him to Nigeria to face trial for his deeds. The prosecution argued their case effectively before the judge; they showed that many of Kanu’s utterances, especially via Radio Biafra, was inciting the populace against the Nigerian state; they showed that his call to young Ibo men to carry up arms against Nigeria, had led to the killing of hundreds of security officials and even ordinary citizens in the Eastern parts of Nigeria; and in other parts of the country. When Kanu was offered the opportunity to defend himself, he did not provide sufficient counters to these allegations. Instead, he spent most of his time insulting the judge, the Nigerian government, and even his own lawyers. Kanu sacked his lawyers and took up the defense of his case himself. Rather than offer a worthy argument, Kanu spent most of his time pouring out venom and a tirade against Nigeria. He demonstrated to the court, in real-time, the very charges that were being brought against him. Nnamdi Kanu is very lucky to have escaped the death penalty. He does not deserve any tears from the Nigerian populace.
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The real challenge here is not the incarceration of Nnamdi Kanu; the real issue here is that many Nigerians do not have the ability to separate issues and to understand who the real enemies of this country are. Too many times, because of our angst against government ineptitude, we tend not to be discerning enough of those who enter into league with us. A good example is the case of Omoyele Sowore, who recently went to support Nnamdi Kanu against the Nigerian government in court. The maxim “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” may be true, but it is not always practical. Sowore’s course and those of Kanu are miles apart. Kanu wants the dismembering of Nigeria; Sowore wants good governance. If Nigeria is dismembered, will there be a country to even govern? This is why it is important to choose both our enemies and friends very carefully.
It is true that there are lots of issues with governance in Nigeria. It is true that corruption still has a hydra head in this country; it is true that Nigerian security officials are spread thin all over the country combating insurgency; it is true that we do not have the best minds in our public institutions, but it is also true that this country is not a failed state – at least not at the moment. It is also true that we have a constitutional democracy running in the country; we have elected officials in government; and we have something close to a functional state. Our duty as citizens of this country is not to join hands with disgruntled elements, who are trying to tear down the state; our duty is to contribute our little quota to make the country a better place for all of us to live in. There is a lot that can be achieved through peace. And those who believe they have legitimate concerns about Nigeria can use peaceful means to achieve them. What Nnamdi Kanu and Simon Ekpa took Eastern Nigeria through in the last decade is not something anyone should commend anywhere in the world. It is good that the two of them are cooling their heels in jail right now. And I hope that they will remain there forever.
For the rest of us, especially for my friends in Eastern Nigeria, I appeal to you to use peaceful and legitimate means to express your concerns for your region and for Nigeria. Nigeria does not need to be reminded every time that we needed to prosecute a bloody thirty-month war to preserve the unity of this country. All kinds of motives have been suggested for why this country did what it did. But I have found out that the single reason many of our fathers supported that conflict was to preserve the hundreds of minority groups that would have been subjugated by the Ibo people if Biafra had become a reality. What would have happened was that the very thing the Ibos complained about would have been the basis for new agitations within Biafra itself, and it would have led to continued wars in that country. South Sudan is a case in point. Nigeria has its issues, but those issues are not insurmountable. One day, we will get it right, but this country will never be fixed by young people gathering together, having access to weapons, and venting their anger on the state through insurgencies.
No one should weep for Nnamdi Kanu. His incarceration is one of those few times that the Nigerian justice system has worked.
Deji Yesufu is the pastor of Providence Reformed Baptist Church Ibadan. He is the author of HUMANITY. He can be reached via [email protected]
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